Whoops, I almost forgot to tell you about how I scrubbed and re-sealed the existing hardwoods right before we moved in (literally, like 26 hours before we moved in). The new hardwoods upstairs were looking so flossy and glossy, I didn’t want the ones in the office, living room, and dining room to feel so 2000 and late. So I gave them some love. Wax on, wax off, baby.
First I swept up the random dust and old faux Christmas tree leaves and all the other stuff that was left behind.
Not a bad pile for an empty looking room, eh?
Then I bought this Bona stuff at Home Depot because I had heard good things about it when it comes to cleaning and glossing up floors that are old/dulled/mildly scratched (you know, floors that don’t need a full re-finishing but could use some moisture/polish to fill in small scrapes and seal them again).
You know, little stuff like this.
After sweeping, the next step was to use their floor cleaning spray, by just working my way around the room spraying it on the floor and following that with the mop (with the cleaning pad on it). This made me mad sweaty, yo. So I give it a 7 on the exertion scale. You’re not just swabbing over the floors like you’re swiffering, you’re scrubbing the heck outta them to get them nice and clean.
Then came the actual sealing/polishing step. This was a lot less rigorous (so you ARE doing the swiffer motion here). The idea is just to gently spread out the liquid that you’re pouring out of the bottle as you work your way out of the room. Oh and for this step you have to use a polishing pad on the mop (it’s more like a lamb’s wool pad while the cleaning one is a bit more scrubbing-sponge-like). Note: see the green painters tape on my mop? That thing came out of the box all wonky and broken, so I had to MacGuyver it together.
In this picture you can see how the floor that I had done was all moisturized and shiny (top left of the pic below) while the floor behind the polish pad is kind of dull and dry.
Sadly, by the time I worked my way out of the room I was only mildly impressed. Parts of it had dried and looked just like they did before (dull, grayed, slightly scratched, etc) while other areas that were still wet looked awesome.
But once they dried… they were all chalky and dry again. I’m not sure if it was just something about our floors and the way they were refinished decades ago (some folks must love this stuff since we heard great things) but it wasn’t an awesome enough result for me to get going on the other two room’s floors. So it was back to Home Depot, where I bought another brand called Rejuvenate. It came in satin and high gloss but I chose high gloss since the floors upstairs are nice and shiny, which we like.
I still used the same Bona cleaning spray and the same Bona mop (with the cleaning head on it) since I already had those on hand and didn’t mind the job they did. It was just the Bona sealer that had left me high and dry (ok, just dry). So I switched ol’ Wonky Mop’s head to the polishing one, but this time instead of using it to spread the Bona stuff, I worked my way out of the room with the Rejuvenate wood floor restorer. The room looked like this before:
And this after:
Granted it still had to dry a bit in that shot above, but the comparison between the Bona stuff and the Rejuvenate stuff definitely left us liking Rejuvenate a lot better. It went on more evenly and left everything rich and sealed looking – even well after it dried. Nothing looked chalky a few hours later, and I was able to apply two coats in each room (you could apply them a few hours apart instead of waiting 24 hours like the Bona stuff required) which was awesome. I even went back and did the office again with the Rejuvenate stuff instead of doing a second coat of Bona in there. And I was so much happier with it.
Here’s the dining room all dry. Flossy and glossy, eh? This is how the living room dried as well, and the office looks the same now that we went over it.
Have you used a floor cleaning and resealing system to bring life back to dull, mildly scratched, or chalky floors? Did you try Bona, Rejuvenate, or something else? Ever tried two different options for a smackdown to the death what’s-better comparison?
Psst – Here’s a post with an update on how the floors are holding up seven months later. Still going strong!
Update – We finally created this Shop Our House page to help you hunt down any furniture/accessories that you see in our house, along with all of our paint colors.
*This post contains affiliate links to projects we have purchased and loved*
April says
They look positively Fergalicious.
YoungHouseLove says
Def, def, def, def, def, def.
xo
Ferg-dog
Debbie says
I tried the Bona Wood Floor Refresher on my hardwood floors a few years ago. My floors were only a few years old, I just wanted to shine them up. I had really poor results. My floors were left in a cloudy haze. I could take my nail and scrape off the Bona. I spent many hours on my hands and knees trying to get all the Refresher off. My floors have never been the same. I had called Bona and they had told me how to remove the Bona. (I can not remember what they had me use) My floors are now 8 years old and getting worn and will need to be refinished in the next year or two. I am excited about your results with Rejuvenate. I have been afraid to use anything on my floors but think I am going to give this a try!
Michelle says
Looks great! We really need to do this at our house.
Kelly {the Centsible Life} says
I think ours are in need of a full-on refinishing, but I’m going to try (again) to make them prettier. I tried the Bona but felt the same whomp-whomp result wasn’t worth the effort, so I plan to try the Rejuvenate stuff.
Christine- 15 Minute Beauty says
We have hardwoods throughout our first floor and use that Bona cleaner as an every day cleaner. It’s great for just spraying and mopping around to spiffy everything up, but not what I would have expected to be recommended for a deep clean like Sherry wanted! I’ve heard the Bona sealer isn’t so great though, I’m bookmarking this post in case I ever want to try out the Rejuvenate!
Sara C says
Can I just say how glad I am you did this post? I’ve been on the hunt for something that will do exactly the same thing to my wood floors (they look very much like your first floor hardwoods). I didn’t know they had the resealer stuff, so I’ve been cleaning and cleaning and cleaning….
Needless to say, I will be making a trip to the good ole HD soon.
Ashleigh says
Looks like there’s hope for our old hardwoods!
Katie says
I’m SO glad that you posted this. Our floors are in need of some TLC and I was having a hard time finding any reviews to compare the two different products. I was leaning toward Rejuvenate (because I had a coupon) but now I know that’s what I will go with. Any idea how you’ll need per square foot? Does the packaging explain well?
YoungHouseLove says
I think it says on the package but we probably used 2 bottles to do each room twice (so two bottles might do three rooms twice or six rooms once).
xo
s
Cara says
Where did you find a coupon?
Katie says
I found the coupon in BHG magazine.
Marinn says
I had heard raves about Bona, too, but have been really unhappy with it. Didn’t think to try another product (duh). I will totally try that Rejuvenate stuff.
Sarah S says
I cleaned my floors with Swiffer’s Hardwood floor cleaner and wasn’t impressed. Ours are starting to loose their glossiness so I will have to try Rejuvenate and see how they work on ours!
Kathy says
I use good old Murphy’s soap. I try and stay away from the glossy stuff because it eventually leaves a residue /film . Keep us updated on that ;)
YoungHouseLove says
Will do! So far a month in we’re really happy with it, but we’ll do another check in down the road!
xo
s
Lisa R. says
Ugh…please do not use Murphy’s Oil Soap on newer hardwoods…talk about residue and film. My MIL used it on our floors a couple of times when we weren’t home and holy residue, Batman. After a while, I had to get down on the floors with a slightly damp rag and some vinegar and scrub every.single.board.in.the.whole.house. Now, I use a steam mop to keep them clean and then use the Bona every once in a while to make them shinier. Murphy’s is great for some uses, but please not the floors!!!
Sherry – let us know how you do wearing socks on the high gloss…do you notice a difference in them being more slippery? I have two young kids and when they wear socks, they usually take a dive on our floors every few days…so, adding some extra slickness to the equation would not be good right now! ;)
YoungHouseLove says
They’re sort of the same glossiness of the floors upstairs (so if you run with socks and try to slide you can, but you’re not falling all over the place or anything).
xo
s
Maria says
When I had my wood floors refinished they advised me that if I every used oil soap or wax on them (even once) I would not be able to have them recoated in the future without fully sanding them down and refinishing. Definitely not recommended by professional floor refinishers.
Angie O says
I’m SOLD. I really regret not refinishing our floors before we moved into this house, and after 8.5 years they’re really showing it. I am off to Home Depot this afternoon.
(You guys should get some sort of commission from them for all the recommendations you make that dedicated readers jump on!)
Thanks for the timely post! I am inspired!
Eileen says
Two posts before the holiday? Totally made my sloooooooooooow work day!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Eileen!
xo
s
Lindsay@Tell'er All About It says
Looks awesome! I totally agree – Rejuvenate is amaze-balls. Just try not to do it with a dog hanging about – puppy prints for years, yo…haha!
Tiffany C. says
Heading to Home Depot right now to buy some Rejuvinate before our open house this weekend. Thanks!
Brenda says
I recognized the Rejuvenate bottle right away because that’s what we use on the wood floors at my office! The floors always look so pretty after they’ve been polished, which my coworker probably does once or twice a year (they get a lot of wear from the metal rolly wheels on the chairs the dentist and hygienist use).
Lindsay says
Holy bells! That looks amazing! Almost makes me want to rip up our fake wood floors, put in new ones, scuff em up and put that rejuvenate stuff on there! Almost.
Linda Bernstein says
You’re making me crave shiny floors now! Do you think that the Rejuvenate would do a well-enough job on its own, or do you think that it was that + the Bona that gave you the results you had?
YoungHouseLove says
It definitely worked well on its own (in the dining room and living room there was just Rejuvenate without any Bona under it (we did use the cleaner, but I think any cleaner would do).
xo
s
Ana says
I used the Bona stuff before I moved into my house, too, and was similarly unimpressed. It didn’t look chalky/cloudy, it just looked exactly the same as before I used it. Afterward, I felt like I could’ve stopped at the cleaning step. Oh, well. Now I know to check out Rejuvenate.
natalie says
Beautiful!
Mia Sorensen says
We just had our neighbor come and give us a quote to refinish our floors. Thanks to the timeliness of this goody, we’ll try the Rejuvenate first since we already have the Bona and see if we can delay the inevitable! Happy 4th!
GreekWife says
Ohhhh,I would love to do that to our floors, but the idea of actually getting stuff up off the floors makes me want to cry.
Also, this totally reminds me of the post I did a while ago all about the word flossy and how I had to look it up!
http://greekwife.blogspot.com/2011/12/g-l-m-o-r-o-u-s.html
YoungHouseLove says
Good ol’ Fergie, teaching us new words.
xo
s
jennifer says
i love this stuff. it is awesome
just want to add – clean, clean, clean every speak of dirt before using the restorer. that crazy stuff will seal any left over dust or dirt! like a piece of hair permanently stuck to the floor forever sealed!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, the cleaning/scrubbing thing is such an important first step!
xo
s
KiTX says
This is awesome to know. We have a lovely hard wood entryway that our 50 lb dog and The Beast (the 75 lb monster puppy) have left in need of some love. Our attempt to bring it back to life with just some OrangeGlo didn’t work so great, so hopefully Rejuvenate will do the trick!
Bren says
Let me know how it works on dog scratches, our foyer is the same. Our one year old golden retriever can’t bark without lifting her front paws and pouncing them down again…crazy dog. Leaves lots of scratches all around where the rug doesn’t reach! Good luck.
Christian says
Hey there. Any luck on the doggy scratches? Our 6 month old house with hardwood throughout the first floor is looking like an ice rink at the end of a competition. :(
Hoping it isn’t a complete refinish job in the making…
Marianne says
I’ve tried the bona and had the exact same result you did. I was very disappointed. I’m going to try the rejuvenate now! Hate I wasted that money on the bona. I thought my floors were just gonna be dry and chalky. I have new hope!
Eadie says
Thank you for posting this. We recently had our old floors refinished and used a no-VOC sealer called Rubio Monocoat. You don’t need a mask or anything and it looked great right after it’s finished. It’s almost matte, and has no poly anything, so it’s more like an oil finish. We love the eco-friendliness of it. Still, it seems to show dirt from our dog’s paws pretty quickly and am looking for something to possibly give it a tad more shine and protection. May have to try this rejuvenate. How is it holding up, and how many weeks since you treated the floors? How often do they recommend retreating? Thank you Sherdog! These posts really help!
YoungHouseLove says
It has been over a month and it has been great! We have pads on our chairs which seems to help too. No new scratches! No idea how often you retreat (maybe just when they look dull or mildly scratched?).
xo
s
Lisa says
Love Rejuvenate! We did this to our 1940s parquet when we moved into our home four years ago, and we’re just now reapplying … probably could have done it about six month ago, especially in high traffic areas, but with area rugs in most of the areas we walk, the floors still look nice and shiny peaking out from underneath them! FWIW, we did three coats, but I’m only doing two coats this time since while they’re showing some wear, they still don’t look as bad as when we moved in.
Ellen says
We just had all our floors done with Rubio Monocoat in large part because we prefer matte but also because no VOC, totally green stuff. It looked great though I get sick of people asking me when we are having the floors re-done because everyone is used to shiny floors. To get more shine, use the Satin Sheen product.
I want to warn everyone, though, that this stuff stains VERY easily. My husband left a pair of dirty, sweaty socks on the floor and next morning – big dark stain. We bought the de-greaser and followed the instructions and now we’ve got a lighter, less dark stain and a place where the finish has been worn off and we have to figure out how to refinish it. This is only two weeks after the floor was done and I’m really not happy about it.
Check the Rubio monocoat website for info about their cleaning products. I have them but haven’t tried them yet.
I had gorgeous maple hardwood in my old house and used Boma and thought it was horrible. As everyone else has said – leaves a dull haze on the floor. Can’t believe the flooring guys recommend this stuff.
M. Stolz says
I’ll bet those floors make for a great time sliding around in socks! Looks great!
Danielle says
I didn’t even know this product existed. I have some 60 year old hardwood that could use some rejuvenating.
Jan says
Bummer about having so much trouble with the Bona kit. I used it on my wood floors and it came out pretty nice. I will definitely give the Rejuvenate kit stuff though…your floors look great!
Lauren says
Wow!! That’s fantastic! Do you happen to know if they have any similar products for wood-like laminate floors (like Pergo type flooring)? Our 2 large dogs haven’t killed the floors in our rental, but they could definitely use a little spruce.
YoungHouseLove says
Anyone have tips for wood laminate?
xo
s
Carol Lynn says
White vinegar works well on laminate floors. The caution with Pergot is not getting them too wet!
Krista says
I keep a mixture of about 2 parts water:2 parts white vinegar:1 part rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle. I spray this on my laminate floors and then mop with a dry mop. My husband doesn’t like the smell, but I’m fine with it. This is also my all-purpose cleaner for windows, mirrors, countertops, pretty much everything. The vinegar cuts through dirt and the alcohol disinfects and helps it dry quickly. I’ve recently started adding a few drops of rosemary or lavendar essential oil to add a little shine and nice fragrance. I love it and it’s not full of scary chemicals.
anna says
I checked the rejuvenate website and they do have products specifically made for laminate flooring. They say it gets rid of their propensity to leave footprints every time you walk on them. I have that problem. My floors look dirty right after they are washed because of the footprints. I’m thinking of trying the rejuvenate on them. :)
Angel says
Oooh, so pretty! They look beautiful. No hardwood floors here. I have scrubbed and “rejuvenated” our tiled floors though. Hours and hours of work, 5 toothbrushes, lots of vinegar, baking soda, Meyer’s soap and kneepads!
Karyn says
We had our hardwoods sanded and refinished three years ago, and they already look awful. We think the company may have cheaped out on the poly. I have passed by the rejuvenate stuff many times but was leary, because we also tried the Bona and hated it. I’m definitely going to try the rejuvenate now. Amazing results!
Kimberly says
When we lived in Germany – they raved about Bona as well for our hardwoods – similar to yours. We were never impressed with it.
Did the rejuvenate help with the scratches?
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, it seemed to fill in the tiny hairline ones but the big gauges are still there, just glossier so they’re less obvious.
xo
s
Laura says
They look great! As an everyday ( ok that’s a lie- once a week :)) cleaner I use Shaklee’s Basic H. It’s Organic and concentrated. You just mix a very small amt with water and spritz it on and mop it off with a microfiber mop. It also makes the best window cleaner ever. I don’t sell it, I just love using the stuff.
Alex says
How stanky were the refreshing polishes? We’re moving into a place with somewhat scuffed up floors and trying to figure out what to do about them… I’m pretty sensitive to chemical ick-ness, though.
YoungHouseLove says
So not bad! I opened all the windows and doors when I applied them, but they dried within an hour or two for the second coat and by 24 hours later when we moved in there was no odor, so within a day when it’s fully cured it shouldn’t be smelly anymore.
xo
s
Nicole says
How’d the mild scratches fair? We have hardwoods in our house and will be putting it on the market in the next year and I’m dying to find ways we spiff up our loved (mildly worn & scratched) hardwoods.
YoungHouseLove says
The skinny/light hairline scratches were filled but the deeper gauges are still there (just glossed up so they’re less noticeable).
xo
s
Jessie says
I’m pretty sure you just enabled my serious urge for nesting. I have just a small amount of hardwood that needs some love, but not refinishing. Adding this to my shopping list full of cleaning products.
Samantha says
This is so helpful! I used the Bona cleaner for a long time, but then discovered Method’s Squirt + Mop Wood Floor Cleaner and liked it so much better that I ditched the Bona cleaner. I still use the mop, though, and have the same falling apart problem you do. Gonna have to try your tape method! :) Our floors are in need of some polishing, so I’ll definitely have to try out Rejuvenate!
Allison says
It’s always been my dream to have a house with hard wood floors… when it happens, I’ll remember to go with Rejuvenate! Thanks!!
Andrea says
Did it make the floor slippery at all? That’s always our main concern with two rambunctious kids chasing each other around our house.
YoungHouseLove says
I think in socks you can have some fun sliding action, but it’s the same as our new floors upstairs (not more glossy and slippery or anything). Clara doesn’t fall around or anything like that :)
xo
s
Brit [House Updated] says
Waaaay better. And I am kicking myself for totally not thinking of or doing this myself in our house! We have removed carpet in nearly every room (just two bedrooms to go) and I have been living in dullsville floor finish since then – it didn’t even occur to me to try and refresh them. Off to get some of this stuff pronto…
Debbie says
Does it smell? How long did it take to dry?
YoungHouseLove says
It had a slight odor but once it dried (you could apply the second coat in an hour or two and walk on them in 24 hours) there was no scent.
xo
s
Marisa says
My Bona mop is wonky too, the business end falls off in the middle of scrubbing.
I’ve been wanting to try the polish (I just have the cleaner) so I’m glad to read this review! I’ll skip right to the Rejuvenate as I’m looking for a high gloss shine.
Thanks!
Sasha says
I tried bona too and was so disappointed. I thought maybe it was just our floors that were in terrible shape (we are renters so no refinishing in our future). I might have to go grab rejuvenate . We are moving out and want everything sparkling!
Ann says
Those floors look all “boom boom pow”! Nice job $herdog!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha!
xo
s
Hailey Footer says
I’m gonna have to try these two brands myself. Everyone I know with hardwoods swears by Bona, so I’m surprised to see they didn’t work very well!
YoungHouseLove says
So interesting right? I heard the same thing (rave reviews about Bona) but someone commented and said she loves their cleaner but also has heard their sealer/polish isn’t that good. Maybe it depends on which result (clean or reglossed) you’re looking for?
xo
s
Samantha says
You’re lucky, as I’ve heard horror stories about the chalky white residue not coming off. I had a similar incident with Orange Glo a few years ago and nearly ruined brand new hardwood. The Rejuvenate is what saved my floors – great product!
YoungHouseLove says
Whew! So glad!
xo
s
Rebecca says
That’s funny – I was going to mention how much we really liked Orange Glow. We used it on our 5 year old oak wood floors before we listed our house.
Maybe it depends of the type of wood or finish, so weird!
I want to do something with the wood floors in our new house but they appear to not have a polyurethane top coat so I’m not sure what to do before we refinish them down the line.
Lindsay says
I have always used a mix of half vinegar and half olive oil and it works great. Leaves them shiny but needs to be reapplied after every cleaning (however I live in an old house, where in reality we need to just suck it up and refinish the floors!)
embee says
i’m like crazy wicked excited to see this! off i go to HD to get some of that product this weekend. my floors are in need of some TLC!
Erica says
Looks great! But…. 2 posts in one day!? That was a nice little surprise :)
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, every Monday and Wednesday we do two posts :)
xo
s
Robin says
Oh how I love new shiny floors … and old(er) shiny floors even more so! Swear they look brand new in your after shots. Our floors look like an etch-a-sketch screen cause we have moved our furniture around so many times on those “easy slider” thingys. I’m so not up for a full service floor refinishing and would like to give Rejuvenate a try … was there any odor from the product? Thanks! Happy and safe 4th y’all. Robin
YoungHouseLove says
I opened all the windows and doors when I applied it, but the floors dried within an hour or two for the second coat and by 24 hours later when we moved in there was no odor, so within a day when it’s fully cured it shouldn’t be smelly anymore (but there was some odor when it was being applied).
xo
s
Jen says
Bona Floor Polish is my nemesis! The previous owner of our house used it. When we moved in we had the floors screened and recoated with a new layer of poly. Unfortunately we found out later you cannot recoat after using Bona floor polish (cleaner ok – polish not). So now the layers of poly are delaminating (started immediately after recoating) and poly is flaking off everywhere. Our floors look like we used a hard tooth rake across them. They’ll eventually have to be sanded down to bare wood and completely refinished, which due to budget constraints will have to wait until next year – 2.5 years after we moved in! Moral of the story – if you plan to sand down to bare wood and refinish someday, you’ll be fine. If you choose to just recoat, talk to a pro first. Otherwise you could end up spend money twice like we will (once to recoat and once to completely refinish).
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man, that stinks Jen!
xo
s
Amanda says
Oh my gosh, Jen, how crazy! This completely explains what’s going on with our floor. I used Bona polish and experienced the same flaking of poly that you’re describing, in pretty much every room. Our entire upper floor is hardwood.
I’m going to try the Rejuvenate stuff Sherry used. It doesn’t look really bad – it’s just flaking in small areas here and there – so I’m hoping maybe another sealer will just keep it all in place for a bit longer.